Piranha (Oregon Files 10) - Page 50
“Too much, sometimes.”
“It keeps you young.”
“I just wish it did something for my weight,” Max said, patting his round belly. Julia was constantly on him to watch his diet, but Chef’s pasta was too tempting.
“I could install a treadmill at your workstation in the op center.”
“You do that and I’m definitely retiring.”
“Then we have a deal. No treadmill, no retirement.”
They tapped bottles and took another drink.
“Well, what do you know?” Reed called down from his chair on the deck above them. “Looks like we’ve got some competition for this prime spot.”
Another fishing charter cleaved the water as it raced toward them at full speed about a mile out. It looked to be a sixty-foot Landeweer, a high-end vessel that outclassed the Cast Away.
“She’s coming on pretty fast,” Juan said.
“That’s the Oceanaire,” Reed said, his brow knotted. “It’s Colin Porter’s boat. She’s a beauty, fully customized, the fastest charter in Montego Bay. Now, why is Colin out here? He told me this morning that he’d be trolling east of here.”
“Seems odd that he would be headed straight for us,” Max said.
“Let me ask him what’s going on.” Reed tried calling on the radio, but instead of a response, Juan could hear a sound like a high-pitched electric drill coming from the speaker.
“What’s wrong with this thing?” Reed said, banging on the console.
Juan looked at Max. “Does that sound like a jamming signal to you?”
“It sure does.” Max narrowed his eyes at the approaching boat when he realized the implication of what Juan was asking.
There was no use checking their personal cell phones. Even if they weren’t being jammed, they were far out of range of any tower.
“Someone’s jamming us?” Reed asked. He followed their gaze to the Oceanaire. “Colin? That’s crazy.”
Juan scanned the horizon. “There aren’t any other boats in sight.”
“It has to be a malfunction,” Reed said. “He’s probably just coming over to say hi or tell us where the best fishing is.”
“Has he done something like this before?”
“Well . . . no.”
“Seems like a strange coincidence, don’t you think? They’re coming at us full bore just after your radio went out?”
“But jamming our signal? Why would he do that?”
“That’s the million-dollar question,” Max said.
Juan leaned into Max and said quietly, “This seems all wrong.”
“I’ve got the same feeling,” Max answered back.
“If they have a portable jammer on that boat, it required some planning to bring it along. They didn’t find one in their neighborhood hardware store.”
“Which means they didn’t want us calling for help.”
“As far as I know, nobody even knows we’re here.”
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